Apostle of Hustle is the side project of Andrew Whiteman (lead guitarist for Broken Social Scene). You like Broken Social Scene? You and me dance? Erm, if you like BSS, you're already along for the ride. Low key indie rock meets Spanish classical flourishes. Not so much on this song down here, but if you pick up National Anthem of Nowhere (drops March 6th) or visit their myspace, you'll catch a whiff.

For some extra fun, they are sponsoring a remix contest! Shoot over to this site to download individual mixdown tracks for "My Sword Hand's Anger" to cut and splice as you please. Winners get some pro audio equipment, tickets to see Apostle of Hustle on tour, and 15 seconds of internet fame when it hits the blogosphere.

Malajube is another shit-hot indie pop rock band from Quebec. They have a little bit of an ADD streak, and they sing in French. I love these guys. They're coming to The Independent in SF on March 2 as part of Noise Pop with Autolux, Snowden, and Death Of A Party. Buy tickets now!

Musically, it's at times chunky rock, borderline electro, or kinda folky. But it's all high enthusiasm and good fun!

One of our favorite "wolfs" from the great indie wolf craze of recent years, Patrick Wolf returns with a new album this year! Magic Position drops March 1 with a more mature Wolf (he's only 23). Matters aside, his pop sensibilites continue to mature at a rapid rate while maintaining his moody goth-electro-folk edge. Comparing Magic Position to his debut release, Lycantropy (back in 2003) leads me to ponder whether he's taken a bit of the MDMA or has just come into age and the confidence that surrounds it. Just in time for a quarter life crisis spiral for his next album!

"Bluebells" is a beautiful and passionate song, and one of his finest efforts to date. Check it out!

Yes, the Shins dropped their new album earlier this week. Also of note is another jem, The Bird And The Bee's self-titled debut! The Bird And The Bee describes themselves as "a futuristic 1960's American film set in Brazil". For the most part I have to agree. It's electro-samba creepiness to the max. Sort of like a moodier doppelganger of The Postmarks. Check out lead single "Again & Again"!

The Broken West is the newest addition to the Merge Records family. Effortly blending 60's rock and jangle pop, The Broken West goes down smooth like butta. Comparisons to Spoon and the Kinks are inevitable. Their Merge debut, I Can't Go On, I'll Go On drops next Tuesday, 1/23. Check out "Down In The Valley" - instantly familiar, but fresh!

No, I don't hate Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Just making a joke. Wouldn't it be great to make a mashup that mixed Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and "Make 'Em Say Ugh" by Master P? Anyway kids, Some Loud Thunder drops January 30 nationwide. Impatient boys and girls can purchase the physical album (with immediate download) at Insound. Ready for fuck-you art rock + their debut album + Supertramp? I know I am!

The Modey Lemon is a 3 piece from Pittsburgh. Their sound can be classified as "neo-garage" or art-punk. They've been steadily growing their fanbase since 2001 with relentless touring and releases on Mute and Birdman. Singer/guitarist/moogist Phil Boyd sometimes does all 3 at once, with Jason Kirker fleshing out additional instrumentation and Paul Quattrone providing brutal drumming foundations.

On their latest outing, The Curious City, they've delved into more psychedelia, like something Pink Floyd would have sounded like if Syd Barrett kept all his marbles.

Continuing our new year's opening festivities, we have some more bands that are having some important releases this year. One of them is 31Knots. Building on the momentum of a breakout year in late 2005/early 2006, they've wasted no time working on new material. The best way to describe them would be to call them math-prog-indie-punk. Yeah, yeah, we all love labels. In any case, they dropped an EP late last year as a precursor to their upcoming full length, The Days and Nights of Everything Anywhere (March 6, 2007).

Check out "Sedition's Wish" from the aforementioned EP and their breakout track, "Chain Reaction".

The Ponys are the latest signing to the illustrious Matador Records. Their Matador debut, Turn The Lights Out (hehe) is due March 20, 2007. What can we expect from these guys? I hear the great guitar bands of Manchester from about 1976-1983. In more palatable terms, I feel like it's Alex Kapranos fronting the Kinks-meets-Television-meets-Joy Division.

It's big ol' dumb dive bar rock with an edge. And it's pretty damn good at that! Check out these two tracks...

Ok, so everyone's been eager to hear Modest Marr (ha ha ha)...so here it is! The song itself is a dancey summer number in the vein of "Float On" but with a little less optimism. It definitely is further along the new Modest Mouse path, which is more 80's influenced. I can hear more Talking Heads in this one. As for the quality of this recording, there's a few blips in there. Oh well. But it's a lot higher fidelity and infinitely more intelligible than the radio rip version that's floating around!

Unfortunately,We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sankdoes not have a release date yet! will be released March 6, 2007.

The Moanin Dove is a 3 piece originally from Western Massachusetts. They recently relocated to San Francisco. Urban legend suggests that the band was initially formed as an art project when the trio met at Hampshire College.

Consisting of a Rhodes piano, bass, and drums, these 3 talented musicians dance around the borders of rock, blues, indie, jazz, and folk music. I can hear touches of Zeppelin, Cream, Coltrane, Pink Floyd, Willie Dixon...